Old Friends, New Flames
by Nicolette134
Summary: RiverdaleAU, without all the criminal stuff. Sort of more like the comics, frankly. Betty and Archie are next-door-neighbors and the best of friends, but things can change when you least expect it. T for the last chapter only.
1. Chapter 1

"Why are you walking me home?" she asked out of the blue one afternoon.  
"I always walk you home," he answered, looking curiously down at the smaller blonde girl, her ponytail bouncing rhythmically as they made their way home.  
"I know that, Arch. I just never bothered to ask why," she responded, "You don't have to wait around after school, now that football's over, and I stay late most days for the newspaper."  
"I'm a gentleman" he answered, laughingly, "You don't know who's creeping around here."  
"C'mon, Archie, this is Riverdale!" she giggled, "Hardly the big bad city."  
"I don't know, why," he answered, honestly this time, "You're my neighbor, I'm being neighborly."

"Oh," Betty said, tucking her chin into her coat. She didn't seem to like that answer.  
"What did you wanted me to say, that I like spending time with you or something gross like that?" he poked her gently, "You did, didn't you?"  
It thrilled him to see the streak of red burst across her pale complexion. She'd kill him if he ever pointed it out, but she blushes quite prettily.  
"I wanted nothing of the sort," she responded, punching him in the arm, "Don't flatter yourself, Andrews."  
"Looks like someone needs a little attention," he said, teasing but not cruelly, "Here, I have a great idea, why don't I come by your house tonight, we can make out."  
"Eww, stop it," she was blushing so much now it reached the tips of her ears, "You're so gross, Archie."  
"You love me," he smirked, "Just admit it. I mean, how can you not? It's the red hair, isn't it?"  
"You wish," she stuck out her tongue, "That's more Ronnie's thing, but thanks."  
He chose to ignore her comment about their other friend, who he tried not to focus on when he was with his pretty blonde neighbor. He didn't like to mix and match his female friends, especially when they presented such a complicated issue for him.  
"I'll win you over one of these days," he assured her instead, taking the easy way out.

He had expected her to tell him to shut up again, but instead she stopped, abruptly. She turned to face him and closed the space between them. He could feel the heat in his body rise, he'd never been this close to her before...  
Suddenly he was noticing just how long her eyelashes were and how they looked like butterfly wings when she blinks, not to mention those lips. She bit the bottom one, painted a soft pink color, and he practically groaned. He'd never thought of it before, but he would bet she knew _exactly_ what that lip bite did to him, and all red-blooded males, for that matter.  
"What would you do, if you did?" she asked, in this way that made the hairs on back of his neck stick up. Her breath smelled like cherries and he was reminded of her habit of stress eating Twizzlers when she was writing on a deadline.  
"I, um-," he began, but now her mouth is slightly open, inviting him, and he can't think of a single word, let alone finish the sentence..  
She leaned in and just as he was about to meet her in the middle, she let out a peal of laughter. It sounded like bells, and he loves her laugh usually, but now it just might kill him.

"I can't hold it anymore!" she finally burst out, pushing him away from her. She was bent over her knees, laughing, "You should've seen your expression!".  
Archie, who was still wasn't sure he knew exactly what had just happened, could only managed an admonishing, "That was _not_ very nice, Cooper."  
"Like you were very nice to me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "Just because I have the love life of a corpse doesn't mean you get to make fun of me. It's called having your priorities straight."  
"I was just teasing!" he objected, pointing an accusatory finger at her, "You were being very mean."  
"Oh come on. You're not going to hold that against me, are you?" she asked, having finally regained her composure, "Don't be a big baby."  
"I guess not. But that doesn't mean it wasn't mean," he responded, still a bit embarrassed by the whole ordeal.  
"You're just mad that I've upped you one again," she says, her hands on her hips, "I'm the best at our little game."

Ah, so that was it. When they were kids the two of them had gone out of their way to push the envelope on their friendship, to try to flirt with one another. It was a game they'd played that messed with their classmates heads and made them both laugh. But they hadn't played in ages, with her briefly dating Jughead until he realized he just wasn't into her like that and the new girl Veronica's obsession with him making the game seem kind of cruel.  
"Only because I wasn't playing," he exclaimed.  
"Only because you know it's not worth attempting to beat me," she answered, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically.  
"Oh, c'mon," he flung an arm over her shoulder and continued the walk to her house, "Let's get you home before you get anymore ideas for teasing me."  
"Well, here we are," she said a minute later when they arrived at her door, "Thank you for your neighborliness, and the immense please of your company, Archikins."  
Betty took a step up to her house, making them the same height, eye-to-eye. She leaned in to him slyly and kissed him on the cheek; too close to his lips, he noted.  
And as she pulled away, still smiling that slick smile, he knew she had noticed too. She'd won another round of their little game.


	2. Chapter 2

That night wasn't first time he'd shown up at her bedroom window, but it didn't happen often either. It was just sporadic enough to always keep her guessing and for him to always catch her just a little off guard. The truth is, he liked seeing her reaction when he knocked on the window; a little jump and then a smile when she realized it was him. He wasn't necessarily invited, but he was always welcome.

"What's up, Archie?" she asked, opening the window.  
He entered the room gracefully with just a small thud, "Just stopping by to say hi to my favorite neighbor. And to ask you for a bit of a favor."  
"Of course Arch, what can I do for ya?" she smiled sweetly. She was dressed casually for once, in grey leggings and a thin pink t-shirt, her ponytail loose and low. Belatedly, he realized they must be her pajamas.  
"I'm a little confused about the English homework, and I really can't miss another assignment in this class. You're a genius, think you could help me out?" he spoke quickly, "If you're not busy, I mean."  
"Sure, you know I'm always happy to help," she said brightly, clearing off a section of her immaculately organized desk to make room for him.  
They settled down to work on the homework, her seated at the desk and him standing behind her, leaning over to watch as she worked to explain the theme of the short story.  
"God, Arch, how rude of me," she giggled lightly, "Aren't you uncomfortable? Why didn't you say something?"  
"No, I'm fine," he insisted, "I don't want to put you out."  
"It's no problem really," she assured him, "My parents aren't home, let's go down to the kitchen- there's more room for us to spread out down there."

"Want something to eat?" she offered when they made their way to the kitchen, "I can call for a pizza? Or we might have something leftover in the fridge?"  
"Whatever you want," he answered noncommittally, "You know I eat anything."  
"Oh," she smiled at the thought of a new idea, "Let's go to Pop's, I could go for a milkshake and fries right about now."  
"You know I'm always down for Pop's," he said agreeably, "I'll drive."  
"Okay, let me just change," she gestured down at her pajamas.  
"No problem," he said, "I'll get the car warmed up."  
Betty emerged from the house just a few minutes later, her pants traded in for a pair of skinny jeans and a cardigan thrown over her t-shirt. She had on a pair of ballet flats and her hair was once again securely pulled back. Archie marveled at how put together she looked, and so quickly. Betty was never one to spend hours on her appearance, like Ronnie and Cheryl would.

Once they finished their shared plate of fries- and Archie's own burger, he was a growing boy after all, the two refocused their attention on the paper Archie was supposed to be writing, sipping their milkshakes and sitting close to look at the shared computer screen that sat between them.  
"I need your advice on what to do about Ronnie," he started, abruptly when she'd finally finished spellchecking his paper and had him submit it, "I mean, I appreciate your help with this paper, but if you don't mind helping me out a bit more, I need some help with her too."  
"What do you mean?" she asked, twirling her straw, "I thought you two were going to start dating, that's what she said."  
"That's the thing," Archie moaned, "She's one of my best friends and obviously I care a lot about her, but I don't necessarily feel that same way about her that she feels about me. If you know what I mean."  
"What?" the blonde asked, shocked, "Are you crazy? Ronnie's the best- she's pretty, she's smart, she's crazy confident. I mean, she's practically perfect!"  
"That's true, but she's just not for the girl for me. I can't help it that I don't feel the same way about her. You can't help how you feel about somebody, you know?"  
He searched her eyes for understanding, but she only squinted back, asking, "Who do you like? If you don't like Veronica, it must be because you like someone else. Is it Ms. Grundy? If it is Ms. Grundy, I'll die."  
"Its not Grundy," he laughed at the idea. The new music teacher was hot, sure, but c'mon, "I promise."  
"Who then?" she asked, eyes twinkling with the promise of dirt, "Valerie? Cheryl?"  
"Trust me," he said finally, "When I'm ready to talk about, you'll be the first to know."  
"I better be," she nudged him playfully, "Now, let's get out of here, I don't want your secret girl to see us together so late!"


	3. Chapter 3

That weekend, the gang went to a party at Kevin Kline's house. It was nothing crazy, of course, he was the sheriff's son, after all, but the sheriff was out of town fishing and Moose had been able to score a keg, so a party they had. Only, one Archie Andrews wasn't exactly in the partying spirit. He'd turned down both Ronnie and Cheryl's advances and was spending his time frowning into his Solo cup on Kevin's couch when Betty had an idea to lighten his mood.

"Let's play a game," she announced, lowering the music, "Who's got an idea."  
"Seven Minutes in Heaven," Reggie called out, always one for causing trouble.  
"Kevin, that okay with you?" Betty asked, ever the polite guest.  
"Sure," the host said amicably, eyebrow cocked as he imagined the possibilities for who he could be partnered with, "But I refuse to go back in the closet. We can use the spare bedroom, don't worry, I just changed the sheets."  
"Alright," Reggie high-fived him, and the decision was made. One of the boys offered up a hat to put all the names in, and after a few rounds went, Betty's name got pulled by Kevin.  
Giggling, she followed him into the room, "So, you were in here with Moose."  
"Yeah, but we didn't do anything on the bed," he assured her with a smug grin.  
"Good God Kevin," she giggled, "Don't you ever get tired of dating guys with girlfriends, though? I mean, we love Midge."  
"I know," he frowned slightly, "I feel bad, but I'm not the one who should be held responsible. I just wish he'd give it up and let Midge date Mantle. Then I could have Moose to myself."  
"I hope that happens for you," Betty said, and it was true. Although, maybe not Moose, specifically, she didn't exactly like the jealous boy, she did wish someone would come out, so Kevin could have an ally even if he didn't have a boyfriend.

"What about you?" he asked, settling onto the bed for a chat. They had six minutes to go and hardly planned to spend them making out.  
"Nothing new," she shrugged, "You know me, boring old Betty."  
"Hardly," he assured her, "Don't think I haven't noticed you up there shaking it with Veronica, Cheryl, and the Vixens. And if I've noticed, I'm _sure_ the other guys have too. Including your little boy-next-door."  
Betty groaned, lamenting, "C'mon, you know that's all he's ever seen me as. I'll never be anything more than his childhood friend."  
Kevin frowned and she quickly assured him, "Which is fine, of course. I mean, I'd rather be friends than be nothing.""  
"Maybe you'll pull his name next," Kevin waggled his eyebrows again, "You could drag him in here and make him realize you've _grown up_."  
"Kevin," she groaned, throwing a pillow at him, "With my luck I'll get, like, Josie McCoy."  
"Hey," he grinned, "That might not be so terrible. She's hot, and Reg says she's a great kisser."  
"Great," she giggled, "Thank you for that. Now I've got something to look forward to."

"Since you've got such a hot hookup in your future," he joked, "Will you be offended if I make one slight adjustment?"  
"The ponytail?" she eyed him suspiciously.  
"The ponytail," he confirmed, gesturing for her to come closer. He pulled the offending hair tie from the blonde's hair, and shook out the singular curl into softly dispersed waves.  
"Alright, I'll admit, that does look better," she allowed, "The ponytail just makes me feel- I dunno, in control."  
"It's a party, babe," he shrugged, "Time to let loose a little."  
"You're right," she agreed, "I need to live it up. I'm a sophomore in high school and I can count on one hand the number of people I've kissed. Bring on Josie _and_ the Pussycats, Betty Cooper is letting lose."  
Kevin laughed at the tipsy girl's speech, "Go get 'em, girl."

Only, when their time was up and they left the room, she didn't pull Josie's name from the hat. She pulled Archie's.


	4. Chapter 4

"Archie, are you okay with this?" she asked quietly, leading him to the bedroom, "We don't have to do anything, if you don't want to. Kevin and I just hung out. He did my hair."  
"It looks good," Archie said, lying down on the bed, "It's not that I don't _want_ to do anything, it's just-"  
"Just what, Arch?" she flopped onto the bed next to him, straddling his stomach, "I don't like that you're not talking to me!"  
She placed her hand flat on his chest, over his heart; he was breathing evenly but his heart was beating erratically, "What's wrong?"  
As she sat over him, his eyes began to travel downward, taking in the way her toned legs spread out on either side of him. Betty had developed quite a bit since they were kids, and he creamy legs looked miles long under the hem of her pleated mini skirt.  
"You're flushed," she murmured, eyeing him some more, "Are you sick?"  
When she leaned forward to check his forehead temperature, his line of vision was altered and he was _definitely_ starting to feel hot. For once Betty wasn't buttoned up in some sweater, and her form fitting top was showing him just a hint of cleavage.

Just then, Archie snapped -he couldn't take it anymore. He was probably having a psychotic break, but frankly he didn't care. He flipped them over in an instant and melded his frame to hers, pressing their hips together. Disoriented, Betty's concerned frown became confused as she pushed against him.  
"What are you-" Archie silenced her question with an open kiss, roughly claiming her lips. He knew she was probably going to kill him as soon as she came to her senses, and that Jughead and the rest would follow suit as soon as they heard, but he couldn't stop. He kissed her lips and ran his hands up and down her slim waist, and he wished she would make him stop, because he couldn't.  
At first Betty was surprised when he had flipped their positions, but she quickly got over the shock and grinned into the kiss.  
"Tell me to stop, Betty," Archie mumbled in between frenzied kisses, "Betty, tell me to stop and I will."  
"You don't have to," she gasped into his mouth, "Don't."

Her arms seemed to move of their own accord, and she wrapped them around his back and admired his muscles under her touch. They parted for air and Archie moved his lips down to her neck, feeling the heat of her shallow breaths on the side of his face. His hands wandered lower and he gripped her hips as he gave a hard thrust of his hips, grunting as his jeans chafed against his growing arousal. He breathed heavily between his teeth as she thrusted into him this time, eliciting a guttural moan from deep within his throat. She purred in response and he just about died on the spot.  
"Fuck," Archie cursed, pressing his forehead into the crook of Betty's neck, body tense with pleasure but unable to ignore the growing sense of dread, at what he was doing, and how it would end. "Fuck, sorry, I don't know what I'm doing."  
"It's okay," Betty grinned, wrapping her arms loosely around him and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "It's kind of great, actually."  
Archie hadn't expected such a composed response to his unprecedented actions, but he said nothing and focused on keeping his shit together. He closed his eyes, feeling the thrum of his heartbeat begin to slow down, and waited until he was breathing steadily again, but before long Betty shifted under him and Archie rolled off of her immediately, not wanting to risk any more hip movement, lest he ended up tearing her clothes off. Apparently everything they say about hormonal teenage boys is true, he was really struggling to control himself.

Betty propped herself up on her elbow and eyed him seriously, "You gonna tell me what all this was about?"  
She was more than happy that It'd happened, but Archie's execution was a bit unorthodox. One second he seemed ill and a second later he was jumping her bones. Surely Kevin taking out her ponytail had not been _that_ powerful.  
Archie met her gaze and blinked slowly, "I'm not sure I really know what that was about myself."  
Betty frowned at that. She wasn't expecting a declaration of love or anything, but still.  
She bit her lip, considering the situation, until Archie hesitantly opened his mouth, "Look at me, Betty."  
"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked, touching her face, paranoid that she had something stuck in her teeth or something equally embarrassing.  
"I always stare at you like that," Archie sighed, removing her hand to hold it in his, "That's the problem- I _always_ stare at you like that. I can't help it, I wish I could, but it's, like, subconscious at this point."  
She opened her mouth to interrupt, but he continued, "And, like, it hurts to look at you. I mean, I feel it in my chest. Especially when your eyes are all lit up like they are right now."  
Archie paused and couldn't keep an embarrassed flush from creeping up his neck, he couldn't talk like this to _Betty_. She only saw him as a friend.

"So you kissed me because my eyes light up," she asked, more than a bit breathlessly.  
"Yes," he answered, before shyly reconsidering, "Well, no, not just because of that."  
"Well then why?" she was chewing on her lip now, as she was wont to whenever she was nervous or confused, and he wished he could tell her how it drives him.  
"Do I have to spell it out for you, Betts?" he hesitated, "I like you, I really like you."  
"Since when?" Betty asked with a slight tremor to her. She somehow found it hard to believe things were playing out like this and wanted to make sure she wasn't being Punk'd or something, not that Archie would ever do that to her. She just couldn't wrap her head around it.  
"A few weeks ago," he confirmed, before apologizing to his oldest friend, "I'm sorry, Betty, I went about this all wrong. I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to mess us up, our friendship. Please don't hate me."  
"Hate you?" she giggled in spite of herself, "I could never, Archie Andrews."  
And with that, she leaned down and kiss him. He didn't hesitate to kiss her back.


End file.
